Des Plaines leans slightly Democratic by roughly 6 points: about 53% of voters vote Democratic and 47% Republican.
About 61% of adults in Des Plaines typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Des Plaines, ~32% vote Democratic, ~29% Republican, and ~39% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Des Plaines compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Des Plaines leans more Democratic than 59 of 165 neighbors.
Des Plaines runs about 4 points more Republican than Illinois as a whole.
Why Des Plaines leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Des Plaines, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Dense areas vote Democratic. About 96% of residents in Des Plaines live in densely developed areas, about 60 points above the U.S. average of 36%. High college attainment predicts Democratic voting, and Des Plaines sits in the top quarter (about 38%, above 85% of cities).
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Des Plaines, IL sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Des Plaines looks the way it does
Crowded housing lines up with lower turnout. About 7% of homes in Des Plaines have more than one occupant per room, above 93% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Rosemont, IL R+9
- Mount Prospect, IL D+12
- Park Ridge, IL D+13
- Niles, IL R+7
- Glenview, IL D+21
- Glenview Nas, IL D+26
- Prospect Heights, IL D+9
- Morton Grove, IL D+13
- Golf, IL D+33
- Schiller Park, IL R+13
Cities with Similar Populations
- Waukegan, IL D+39
- Brooklyn Park, MN D+37
- Cordova, TN D+33
- Dublin, OH D+15
- Temple, TX R+15
- Cleveland, TN R+44
- Norristown, PA D+31
- Jonesboro, GA D+66
- Avondale, AZ D+16
- Suwanee, GA Even
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Illinois State Board of Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.